Mark Stoneman puts Durham on course for victory

Chester-le-Street (second day of four): Durham, with two second innings wickets remaining, lead Warwickshire by 210 runs

Myles Hodgson

Friday June 14 2013, 1.00am, The Times

Stoneman hit 12 fours in his innings

BEN HOSKINSGETTY IMAGES

Myles Hodgson

Friday June 14 2013, 1.00am, The Times

There are few harder places in county cricket to score runs consistently than Chester-le-Street, so Mark Stoneman’s disappointment at missing out on his third championship century of the summer should be off-set by the prospect of his 83 proving a match-winning innings against Warwickshire.

On a wicket showing signs of inconsistent bounce, no batsman on either side has looked comfortable and most have played with an aggression suggesting a deep-lying suspicion that an unplayable delivery was imminent. Stoneman, however, has played with a confidence befitting a man who scored his seventh half-century in his last ten championship innings, two of which were hundreds.

That he failed to add another century to his impressive record this summer should not detract from a stand-out performance, which has